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Faced with the problem of how to respond to the challenges of intra-state armed conflict, international policymakers often turn to incentives, sanctions and conditionality in the hope that these tools can alter the conflict dynamics and influence the protagonists' behaviour. Drawing on case studies from around the world, Accord issue 19 suggests that while these instruments have in some cases helped tip the balance towards settlement, in many others they been ineffective, incoherent or subsumed into the dynamics of the conflict.

Accord issue 16 explores the case for engagement with armed groups and the lessons learned from peacemaking practice. Highlighting both opportunities and challenges, it suggests that the range of engagement options and potential interveners makes a strong case for engagement.

From military peace to social justice? The Angolan peace process (Accord issue 15, 2004) asks ‘what next?’ for a nation that has secured a ‘military peace’ but still faces huge challenges in post-conflict peacebuilding and a secessionist war in Cabinda. It provides lessons from Angola’s history of conflict and peacemaking, and reviews past peace processes and the roles played by Angolan civil society, institutions such as the United Nations and foreign governments.

From military peace to social justice? The Angolan peace process (Accord issue 15, 2004) asks ‘what next?’ for a nation that has secured a ‘military peace’ but still faces huge challenges in post-conflict peacebuilding and a secessionist war in Cabinda. It provides lessons from Angola’s history of conflict and peacemaking, and reviews past peace processes and the roles played by Angolan civil society, institutions such as the United Nations and foreign governments.

The peace agreement signed in 2001 on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (PNG), ended the most violent conflict in the South Pacific since World War II. Weaving consensus: the Papua New Guinea - Bougainville peace process (Accord issue 12, 2002) outlines an extraordinary array of creative initiatives and interventions that succeeded not only in ending the organised violence but brought together Bougainvillean society within a national framework. The process defined a negotiated settlement acceptable to all.

Conflict in Tajikistan began to escalate during the break-up of the Soviet Union. By 1992 this Central Asian republic was engulfed in civil war. After more than three years of peace talks, a power-sharing agreement was signed in June 1997, establishing a joint Commission for National Reconciliation to oversee its implementation. By 2000, the Tajikistani government and the United Nations had declared the peace process a success.

Accord issue 7, A question of sovereignty: The Georgia–Abkhazia peace process, explores the background and issues at the heart of the Georgia–Abkhazia conflict – the Abkhaz demand for sovereignty and why Georgia refuses to grant it.
The publication offers an insight into a political stalemate. It flags possible avenues out of the deadlock, including the need for political constituencies on both sides to engage more effectively with the challenge of democratisation and economic cooperation.